Component connectors or pipe connectors are already known from the prior art. They are used to fixedly connect two pipes in which a gas or a liquid, for example, may be conducted, so that the gas or the liquid may flow through the connected pipes.
To this end, an arrangement for producing extended channels is provided in Utility Model DE 299 08 172 U1, in which two components to be connected abut at their end faces and are fixed in a central location. Initially the end faces are joined so that they seal the gap, using a bonding agent. An adhesive which cures under the influence of heat is used as the bonding agent. After the curing, the connecting point is uniformly covered with a fixing casing on both sides, thus axially and radially fixing the components to one another in a precise manner.
In addition, Published Unexamined German Patent Application 2 145 831 discloses a pipe connection for two pipes made of thermoplastic plastic which are placed against one another at their end-faces. For this purpose, a sleeve made of a thermoplastic or thermoelastic plastic band is provided which is wound onto the pipe ends in the area of a butt seam and stretched onto the pipes via shrinkage forces. For sealing, in addition a sealing ring is provided which is likewise secured and stretched by the sleeve.
In these approaches, it is disadvantageous that the connections are very difficult to reopen. On the one hand, stretched casings made of thermoplastic or thermoelastic plastic, for example, are removable only with effort, and on the other hand, a cured adhesive on the end faces is not easy to detach without also damaging the connected components.
Furthermore, the casing is easily accessible from the outside, and may thus be damaged not only in the stretched state, but also during attachment. Damage to the casings has an effect primarily on the seal-tightness and the reliability of the connection. As a result, leakage of a liquid or escape of a gas as well as shifting of the pipes are not reliably preventable. Therefore, rapid opening and closing of the component connection as well as frequent use of the same component connector or component cannot be ensured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,437 discloses a pipe connector in which a fixing sleeve is provided on which projections are situated. The projections are an integral part of the fixing sleeve, and surface profiling in the form of detent elements is provided on the projections. In addition, a cylindrical gripping ring is provided which encloses the fixing sleeve with the projections, and the inner wall of the gripping ring likewise has surface profiling, so that the gripping ring may be concentrically pushed onto the projections of the fixing sleeve in a precisely fitting manner. As the result of rotating the gripping ring, the fixing sleeve is compressed, and teeth situated thereon are thus pressed into a component situated on the fixing sleeve, thus fixing the component. The components are sealed by additional O-rings which are provided between the component and the pipe connector. Such a fixing sleeve and such a gripping ring are situated on both sides of the pipe connector, so that two components may be joined together.